FOLSOM — Serra coach Patrick Walsh ended his postgame speech to his team by screaming five words from the top of his lungs:
“Never doubt those Serra Padres.”
In one of the most anticipated games of the year, Serra defeated Sacramento-area powerhouse Folsom High 22-21 in thrilling fashion to start the season with a signature win.
After trailing for most of the game, Serra came up big in crunch time.
Senior kicker Brody Smith knocked in the go-ahead 38-yard field goal to give the San Mateo school the victory.
Serra introduced 18 new starters to its lineup after losing most of its key players from last season’s team to graduation. But on Folsom’s blue turf, the young team from San Mateo looked like seasoned veterans as the Padres showed they are still one of Northern California’s top teams.
“We have a lot of new faces,” Walsh said. “But I told them the only thing that will truly measure ourselves is if we’re a tough organization. We had some issues and I think that was clear. But I think overall, the mental toughness of this entire team was on full display.”
Folsom came into the game as heavy favorites, and the Padres were something they’ve rarely ever been before a regular season game.
Underdogs.
“It’s crazy because absolutely nobody believed in us coming into this game,” Smith said. “I don’t think anyone picked us to win this game and we came out here and did it.”
Senior running back Nano Latu led Serra with 164 yards and a touchdown. Senior Chris Yoon rushed for 65 yards and a touchdown.
Making his first start, senior quarterback Andrew Heneghan completed 10 of 19 passes and found the end zone with his feet.
Serra’s defense held the high-powered Folsom offense in check for most of the game, forcing two turnovers while not allowing a score in the second half.
“I think our defense was absolutely spectacular,” Walsh said. “Holding those guys to 21 points when we had short fields in the game and an early turnover. I’m just thrilled to be a Serra Padre.”
Serra jumped on the home team early.
On Folsom’s first possession of the game, safety Malakai Taufoou picked off a deep Folsom pass down the right sideline. A 74-yard Latu rush on the next possession, set up a Heneghan one-yard plunge into the end zone.
Just over two minutes later, Serra got the ball back and Latu took an outside run to the house from 15 yards out to put the Padres up 13-0 in the middle of the first quarter.
But it was all Folsom the rest of the first half, led by four-star junior quarterback Ryder Lyons.
A long Folsom drive at the end of the quarter ended with a 24-yard Lyons touchdown run on a quarterback draw to make the score 13-7. Serra fumbled the ensuing kickoff and gave Lyons and the Folsom offense field position in the red zone to start the second quarter.
Wide receiver Jameson Powell caught a 15-yard touchdown pass to give Folsom its first lead of the game at 14-13.
In a matter of minutes, the Bulldogs went from being held scoreless to leading with all the momentum on their side with Lyons finding his groove.
“Lyons is fantastic,” Walsh said. We’ll be watching him on Sundays. He’s a great player.”
With Folsom up 21-13 at halftime, the home crowd inside Prairie City Stadium felt as though one more score would eventually be good enough to put Serra away.
But the 21 first-half points were all Serra allowed the rest of the night.
At the start of the fourth quarter, Folsom strung together a 10-play drive but missed a chip shot to go up two scores.
That was just the break Serra needed.
With just over five minutes left, the Padres’ offense came to life.
After chipping away at Folsom’s defensive line through strong runs up the middle, Yoon found a room up the left sideline and scored a 22-yard touchdown to make the score 21-19 with under three minutes left. Serra opted to go for the tie on a two-point conversion try, but Folsom’s defense sniffed out a delayed run to the right side and kept its slim lead.
On the kickoff, there was confusion on the Serra sideline. Coaches were scrambling, and for a moment, it looked like the Padres had to burn a timeout.
But Serra ran to the line quickly and Smith kicked a ball to the middle of Folsom’s coverage team. The ball bounced high in the air, and when the ball hit the ground, a group of Serra players jumped on the football to give their team possession with just over two minutes remaining.
“In all honesty, we didn’t execute the play we wanted to execute,” Walsh said. “It was actually just so chaotic, not just for us, but the other team as well.”
The offense did just enough to get Smith in range, and the junior made the biggest play of the night.
Folsom had one last shot to win when Lyons threw up a 40-yard pass to the back of the end zone with time running out, but Serra’s defense knocked the pass away at the last second to get its first signature win of the season.
“I’ve coached in a lot of crazy games, but this one was crazy for sure,” said Folsom coach Paul Doherty.
While Serra went into Friday’s game with something to prove, the team knew not many would look at them in that way once they got on Folsom’s blue turf.
Serra beat Folsom in back-to-back seasons, and knew the Bulldogs were going to play inspired football to try to avoid a defeat for a third straight season.
“I feel like it’s pretty rare that you can be an underdog and the villain,” Heneghan said. “But all that matters is we did it.”
Serra is scheduled to play another Northern California powerhouse when it travels across the Bay to De La Salle – the top team in the Bay Area News Group preseason rankings – next Friday. The Spartans defeated storied Sacramento rogram Grant High 42-14 at home on Friday.
